Ross Stores, Inc. $ROST Shares Purchased by Handelsbanken Fonder AB

Key Points

• Handelsbanken Fonder AB increased its Ross Stores stake by 28.9% in the second quarter, purchasing 48,775 additional shares for a total holding of 217,622 shares valued at approximately $46.3 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 86.86% of the company.
• Ross Stores reported stronger-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $2.02 versus the $1.73 consensus and revenue of $6.01 billion, up 20.6% year over year. Management set fiscal 2026 EPS guidance at $7.50–$7.74.
• The company pays a quarterly dividend of $0.445 per share, or $1.78 annually, representing a 0.7% yield and a 24.86% payout ratio. Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating with an average price target of $239.12.

Handelsbanken Fonder AB boosted its holdings in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST - Free Report) by 28.9% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 217,622 shares of the apparel retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 48,775 shares during the quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB owned approximately 0.07% of Ross Stores worth $46,321,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Woodline Partners LP increased its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 39.9% in the first quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 27,875 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $3,562,000 after buying an additional 7,951 shares during the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its holdings in Ross Stores by 23.5% in the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 615 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $79,000 after acquiring an additional 117 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Ross Stores by 35.8% during the 2nd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 10,581 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $1,350,000 after acquiring an additional 2,792 shares during the last quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina boosted its stake in Ross Stores by 1.0% during the 2nd quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 150,491 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $19,200,000 after acquiring an additional 1,508 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Main Street Financial Solutions LLC boosted its stake in Ross Stores by 2.2% during the 2nd quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC now owns 12,580 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $1,605,000 after acquiring an additional 265 shares during the last quarter. 86.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ross Stores Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ROST opened at $251.81 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $232.83 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $219.18. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 52-week low of $143.39 and a 52-week high of $257.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $80.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.17, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.86.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 21st. The apparel retailer reported $2.02 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.73 by $0.29. The company had revenue of $6.01 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.64 billion. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 38.42% and a net margin of 9.74%.Ross Stores's quarterly revenue was up 20.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.47 earnings per share. Ross Stores has set its FY 2026 guidance at 7.500-7.740 EPS and its Q2 2026 guidance at 1.850-1.930 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 7.77 earnings per share for the current year.

Ross Stores Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 9th were paid a dividend of $0.445 per share. This represents a $1.78 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 9th. Ross Stores's payout ratio is presently 24.86%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on ROST. Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $270.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. Wall Street Zen lowered Ross Stores from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, June 20th. UBS Group reiterated a "neutral" rating on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Wednesday, June 10th. Zacks Research lowered Ross Stores from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a "market perform" rating and issued a $230.00 price objective on shares of Ross Stores in a report on Friday, May 22nd. Fifteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $239.12.

About Ross Stores

Ross Stores, Inc NASDAQ: ROST is an American off‑price retailer headquartered in Dublin, California, that operates the Ross Dress for Less and dd's DISCOUNTS store formats. The company sells a broad assortment of apparel, footwear, home fashions, accessories and other soft goods, positioning itself as a value-oriented destination for brand‑name and fashion merchandise at reduced prices.

Ross's business model centers on opportunistic buying of excess inventory, closeouts, cancelled orders and overstocks from manufacturers, department stores and other suppliers.

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